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Short Line Data Systems Inc. ROCS Update – January 2009 Website: www.sdsrocs.com Greetings: It’s not only amazing that 2009 is finally upon us, but that January is half over already shows that time does truly fly by. We started the year off quickly with three ROCS cutovers at once on January 1, and a fourth one on the way for February 1. We also used the holiday period to continue work on the development of Version 12 of ROCS, and we also took a much needed rest. Moving ahead, in this update we will fill you in on the above items, fill you in on some other items of interest, and bring back that ever popular feature, “Where did Steve go this year.” G&O Complete We are proud to announce that the last three railroads of the Gulf & Ohio system, the Conecuh Valley Railroad, Three Notch Railroad, and the Wiregrass Central Railroad completed their successful cutover to ROCS on January 1. You always have a little anticipation when one railroad cuts over, but when three do it at once, you really have to have done your homework and made sure that everything is in its proper place. Thanks to the thorough preparation done by the G&O staff, our job was made a lot easier, and the first day went with no major issues. We are also working on cutting over another railroad for a current customer, with a changeover date of February 1. This system will use both the classic ROCS system, and the Rating DB, which helps users deal with the unique requirements of the CSXT junction settlement system. Version 12 As we mentioned last month, we have been working on some major changes to ROCS, and they have led to some very impressive (500-700%) improvements in processing times. Over the last month, we have been continuing with this work, and while we haven’t hit on another monstrous improvement, we have been able to remove some of the recurring issues that have over the years lead to support calls without affecting any of the performance of the system. The most noticeable of these changes is in the outbound billing system, where we have been able to eliminate an issue that prevented the user from creating an outbound bill, even though all but one small piece of the proper backing information was available. We have also made the system more tolerant to missing reporting mark data on waybills, and we have added new processes that check the outgoing CHDX car hire messages for completeness. These new processes, along with some additional ones that we are just starting to build, will make Version 12 the fastest and most powerful version of ROCS yet. Knowledge Base One of the things that we have learned after almost ten years of software production is that the hardest part is not writing the software, its writing the instructions. Fortunately, all of our products are relatively easy to use with some instruction, and we have had made a couple of attempts at writing an instruction manual, with varying success. The biggest problem has always been that by the time you finish testing the latest release, you spend a good amount of time deploying it to the customers, and then it is time to start working on the next release. So, by the time you have written the manual the version is on its way out and is being replaced by the new version. We are going to try to produce a manual for Version 12, and in the mean time we have added a new feature to the website: a knowledge base of problems that pop up from time to time that can be fixed without our intervention. We have put the first two articles up, and we will be adding new ones from time to time as we get the opportunity to prepare them. If there is something that you would like to have explained through a knowledge base article, please let us know. Where has Steve been in the Last Year? As has become tradition over the last couple of years, we try to list all of the places that I have gone during the past twelve months. This year’s list is a little smaller than ones in years past, but it is no less impressive. Without further adieu, let us proceed: Stettler, Alberta Charleston, South Carolina Jacksonville, Florida Washington DC (too many times to count) Toledo, Ohio San Antonio, Texas Columbus, Ohio Midlothian, Texas Roanoke, Virginia Erie, Pennsylvania Hershey, Pennsylvania (even I take vacations) Tampa, Florida Charlotte, North Carolina New Orleans, Louisiana Williamsburg, Virginia Orlando, Florida (had to see the mouse) Annapolis, Maryland When you add up the trips, it totals to just about 30,000 miles of traveling, which is about 1 ¼ times around the earth. We will be starting our regular visits to Newark Airport, Metropark, and all of the rest of New Jersey’s transportation hubs shortly, and we look forward to another interesting year on the road, which will include places like Las Vegas, Seattle, Panama City, Indianapolis, and others. Well, that is all for now. We’ll be back next month with all of the latest news and events. Stay safe, Steven Friedland President |
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